Quite a job to create a little breathing space

Tevita Tapa really wants to become a tradesman. Photo / Supplied

Heating, ventilation and air-conditioning apprentices develop knowledge of how to manufacture and install components to provide competent, functional heating, ventilating and air-conditioning mechanical service systems to meet customer requirements.

They learn how to draw and interpret engineering drawings, understand metal properties, and complete welding and fabrication processes. They also need to keep up to date with changes in technology, equipment and manufacturing methods.

THE APPRENTICE

Tevita Tapa

* 48
* Adult apprentice hourly starting rate: $14 per hour.
* Heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) apprentice for Chillex Group

I came from Tonga four years ago and started working in a factory but I really wanted to become a tradesman but I didn't want an apprenticeship that involved really heavy lifting or being outside all the time.

A friend was doing air-conditioning and it sounded good so I enrolled in a one-year, pre-trade refrigeration and air-conditioning course at MIT (Manukau Institute of Technology) to get started.

We did a lot of basic things, such as safety and first aid, welding and things like that.

While on the course I got work experience here at Chillex, and at the end of the course I was offered an apprenticeship. I've been here a year and have a year to go to complete my apprenticeship and become an HVAC tradesman.

As part of my apprenticeship, I have to do 12 assignments, practical unit standards, and a three-week block course each year. During the block courses we do paperwork theory during the week and then every Friday we spend connecting the learning together in a practical way.

In the workplace my foreman signs off my practical unit standards when he feels I've done each task properly. It might be a piece of welding or putting duct up a certain way. I also have to take photos as evidence of what I'm doing and keep a diary. If I need to learn about something that we don't do here, then Chillex sends me to another workplace to get the experience; I'm going to a sheet metal workshop next week.

There are also monthly Saturday study sessions to help us with our unit standards and anything we don't know. These are really useful.

I really enjoy the job because I keep active and moving around. In the factory you are in the same place all the time. Here, I am at different buildings, commercial and industrial. We work on quite big buildings.

The hardest part of the job is dragging tool boxes and gear up and down two or three levels of a building under construction. It can get hot and stuffy around ceilings but I don't mind that.

THE EMPLOYER

Cam Crawford

* Managing director of Chillex Group

We design and build air-conditioning systems for commercial and industrial projects. This can involve steel and copper pipe work, ducting and mechanical ventilation, cooling towers, water chillers, process coolers, computer room A/C systems and pumps.

It is really important to have staff you can rely on. We can't have guys not turning up when we're keeping to deadlines on a construction site. We also want honesty, a good work ethic, and guys that will keep things tidy on site. And we want people that are practical and good at welding.

Tevita is a good, honest bloke. He is strong, steady, and reliable. He worked hard when he was doing his work experience here. That, coupled with the fact that he didn't take any time off during the year of his MIT course, suggested to me that he'd be a good apprentice.

He'd be the oldest apprentice I've had by about 20 years and I find he is a really steady influence. Although English is Tevita's second language, he is showing a good grasp of written English and he's doing well at his assignments.

We have a really good relationship with MIT; one of the tutors is a past Chillex foreman. We are seeing really good potential apprentices do work experience with us. In fact our last four apprentices came off the MIT course. When we hired before that, we often found guys might look keen but they often couldn't do the paperwork theory involved and HVAC requires quite a bit.

The MIT course covers a lot of the theory, which gets the guys on track with learning how to study and get through assignments, which is crucial for success. I feel if they can do that year successfully, then they're well under way with the theory and have got an understanding of what is involved in air-conditioning.

We started the monthly Saturday sessions to find time to concentrate on our apprentices and help them through. It is part of their contract to participate. We pay for their apprenticeship training but if they don't complete the course, they have to pay it back. We've only had one fail in the last 12 years.

The course teaches the apprentices why they have to do what they do.

Anyone can put a piece of duct up but what is important is to understand why you're putting it up and how it should be installed and the size it should be.

Knowing those things makes you a much better operator.

Different buildings have different requirements. For example, we're currently working on a big, two-level factory where we need to use 1.5m duct. An office with sedentary workers will require smaller duct. Cool stores need refrigeration. Some packaging places such as milk powder packaging need dehumidified air. We recently did a temple in Tauranga that needed moisture pulled out of the air.

It is all about air. You need the right volumes of air to suit the requirement of the air-conditioning space.

TRAINING PLACE

Qualification: National Certificate in Heating, Ventilation, and Air-conditioning (Level 4).
Where: Competenz.
Contact: 0800 526 1800; info@competenz.org.nz; www.competenz.org.nz.
Course costs: Employers usually cover costs. Chillex estimate training costs around $4000 a year.
Starting average hourly rate: Apprentices $13 per hour. Fully qualified tradesperson approximately $25-$30 per hour.